Finding Eden

A wreck lands a man in paradise.

The waves beat him down. Still, Jacob kept on rowing with each twist and turn the boat took. Beneath him, he could feel the boat cracking. "Help! Help me!" he screamed out to no one. Suddenly, he felt himself tumbling into the torture of cutting, splintering wood and monstrous, painful waves. The torn apart boat was searing through him. He blacked out.

He woke up to find sand in his throat and mouth. Coughing it out each searing second, he limped onward. Where was he? He kept limping towards an empty field. Out of nowhere, a horse trotted up to him, nuzzled him then with his teeth, picked him up and threw him on his back. "Hey! Put me down!" he shouted.

The horse just took off with a roar of hoof beats echoing in their ears. He squeezed his eyes shut as terror ignited through his body, coursing to his hands that immediately snatched the horse's mane. The horse laid him down gently in a gently flowing stream. The cooling waters soothed him and suddenly, he felt his legs heal. What in the world? he thought. All the deep, sickening cuts had vanished! Jacob backed out the water in fright. Where am I? Am I dead? The horse he looked up at only neighed in approval. It placed him on his back and they headed deeper into the forest.

The trees offered a welcoming shade. The cool air, birds singing and gentle sway of the horse lulled him to sleep. Fifteen minutes later, the horse stopped. "Wh-hat?" he stammered. In the trees, a bird and a squirrel were sharing nuts together. A lion and a lamb were sleeping beside each other. Jacob reached out and touched an owl that was caring for a mouse. A wolf howled and he felt a sense of dread. He looked up however to see a wolf was helping a deer climb up a steep set of rocks on a hill. "Where am I?" he asked himself. All he knew was he was hungry. Jacob's legs ran to a tree in the distance and yanked off a peach. It was the sweetest fruit he had ever tasted. He laughed. So what if he died? This was heaven! The horse suddenly snatched him back on his back. "Where are we going?" Jacob protested. "Let me go!" It seemed within moments, they were back at the sandy beach. The horse nudged him forward as his heart sank. Before him was a wooden boat. He had to go back. He looked to the field where he saw waving tall grass usher in a feeling of safety. A jaguar and a goat seemed to look at him with a message. All the fowls and creeping animals stopped to look at him with a look that seemed to say "Please keep our secret." His eyes filled with tears as he picked up his paddle. He would. After all, it was the place he felt inner peace, showing him a truth about himself he never understood. He was valuable. A bird flew overhead cawing a long, sad caw. At this, he rowed away into the peaceful waves that guided him home.